Have we passed solar minimum?

Sunday, 31 May 2020 - 14:53 UTC

The recent M-class solar flare from a sunspot region that belongs to Solar Cycle 25 was a wake up call for everyone who keeps an eye on the weather in space. Who would have thought that we would see an M-class solar flare while we are so close to solar minimum? Not many of us that's for sure. It raises yet again the question... When is solar minimum, or when was solar minimum? Could we have passed solar minimum? We have seen a couple of Solar Cycle 25 sunspot regions during the past few weeks and this M-class solar flare was another sign that we might have passed solar minimum already? Is Solar Cycle 25 really starting to gain traction? In this news item we will take a look at the evidence and present you with the data we need to draw a preliminary conclusion.

Yesterday's M-flare producing active region rotates into view

First M-class solar flare of a Solar Cycle 25 region!

Friday, 29 May 2020 - 12:01 UTC

925 days. That is the amount of time we had to wait since we last saw a M-class solar flare on the Sun. But today the wait is over. An impulsive M1.19 solar flare (minor R1 radio blackout) took place on our Sun this morning peaking at 07:24 UTC. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory seems to have taken a break from its sun-watching duty for some reason but STEREO Ahead captured the impulsive eruption confirming it comes from a sunspot region near the east limb from Earth's point of view. This sunspot region very likely belongs to Solar Cycle 25 due to its high latitude and it could even be the first M-class solar flare of Solar Cycle 25 depending on if we have passed solar minimum or not.

Time flies... Roll on Solar Cycle 25...?

G1 geomagnetic storm, Coronal hole faces Earth

Tuesday, 21 April 2020 - 14:06 UTC

Some unexpected action yesterday! The minor G1 geomagnetic storm threshold was reached on two occasions yesterday (10:44 UTC and 14:18 UTC) and a coronal hole faced our planet! Where did this mysterious geomagnetic storm come from and what can we expect from the earth-facing coronal hole? Keep on reading to find out.

April... The month of solar minimum?

Tuesday, 31 March 2020 - 22:30 UTC

Hello everyone and welcome to April. Could this month be a turn around point for us solar watchers? Is Solar Cycle 25 about to start? Understandable questions which we will shed some light on later in this article.

Welcome back DSCOVR!

Coronal hole faces Earth

Friday, 28 February 2020 - 19:21 UTC

Space weather has been relatively uneventful this week. Our Sun is quiet as we are close to solar minimum. No sunspot regions could be found on the earth-facing solar disk this week. We do see two small bright regions on STEREO Ahead but they look small and inactive. When it comes to auroral activity we do see a slight enhancement in the solar wind data right now but the north-south direction of the IMF (Bz) is mostly northward so enhanced auroral activity is unlikely tonight. However, if you follow us on Twitter or have the SpaceWeatherLive iOS/Android app installed you might have received an alert that we have a coronal hole facing our planet today!

Solar Orbiter successfully launched into space

Monday, 10 February 2020 - 18:49 UTC

An American Atlas V rocket has successfully launched the European Solar Orbiter satellite into space during the early hours of 10 February. This unmanned space probe is Europe's newest solar observatory which will start to study our Sun in just under two years from now. Its main mission is set to begin in November of 2021. At closest approach, Solar Orbiter will only be 42 million kilometers away from the Sun. Scientists hope to learn more about the solar wind, the Sun's polar regions, the Sun's magnetic field, solar activity and how it affects Earth. Solar Orbiter is an ESA mission with strong NASA participation.

Coronal hole, Transit to Solar Cycle 25

Saturday, 8 February 2020 - 11:36 UTC

A coronal hole is facing our planet today. It is a slim southern extension of the northern hemisphere polar coronal hole. The effects of this coronal hole could reach Earth on Monday (10 February) as a high speed solar wind stream could sweep past our planet and spark some more high latitude aurora displays.

Support SpaceWeatherLive.com!

A lot of people come to SpaceWeatherLive to follow the Sun's activity or if there is aurora to be seen, but with more traffic comes higher server costs. Consider a donation if you enjoy SpaceWeatherLive so we can keep the website online!

Social networks

Available languages

About Parsec vzw

Parsec vzw is a non-profit organization from Belgium which consists of several websites about Astronomy, Space, Space Weather, aurora and related subjects. Our organization promotes these scientific branches onto the world wide web with websites as this one. Give your support for our organization by making a donation.